Orly Art Exhibit in Atlanta

In May 12th of this year Katherine McClure along with the Buckhead Heritage Society will be sponsoring the Orly Art exhibit and silent auction at the Millenium Gate Museum in Atlantic Station, downtown Atlanta. The exhibit commemorates the 50th anniversary of the 1962 Orly plane crash that tragically took the lives of many Atlanta artists. We are honored to have been invited to participate in the exhibit with our gardenia photo pictured above because, although it is not a newly commissioned work of art for this exhibit, as Katherine notes in an email, ‘…the gardenia photo you’ve got already has the right feel.’

Further on she explains, ‘This exhibit will present viewers with the story of the era and crash through artists working today.’

Here is the story below (excerpts):

May 9, 2012 marks the 50th anniversary of the departure of the Atlanta Art Association’s Trip To The Louvre that ended tragically June 3, 1962. On that day, Atlanta lost the heart of its arts community in a tragic plane crash at Orly Airfield outside Paris, France. An Air France jet carrying 132 people, almost all of whom were from Atlanta, crashed on take off, killing all but 2 people. At the time, it was the worst air disaster in history and was internationally mourned. Andy Warhol was moved by the press about the crash and began his Disaster Series with a painting of the New York Mirror headline about the crash. Martin Luther King, Jr. had scheduled a sit-in and rally in Atlanta that he canceled out of respect. Memorials for those lives lost exist throughout Atlanta and other parts of the country.

On Friday May 11th, 2012, a screening of the PBS documentary, The Day Atlanta Stood Still, along with a talk by Explosion At Orly, The Disaster That Transformed Atlanta author, Ann Uhry Abrams will take place at The Cathedral of St. Phillip. The newly built Cathedral at 2744 Peachtree Road was dedicated May 13, 1962, only a few days after numerous members of the Cathedral left on the Art Association tour. The Cathedral’s grand Rose Window was dedicated to those who lost their lives in the crash and includes a plaque listing all those who lost their lives.

On May 12th, an art exhibit and silent auction will take place at Atlanta’s Millennium Gate and Museum in Atlantic Station. The exhibit will be free and open to the public all day Saturday, May 12 with the art auction to follow that evening. The Millennium Gate is a museum dedicated to preserving and interpreting Georgia history, architecture, culture and philanthropic heritage. Included in the museum grounds is a cenotaph in memory of the lives lost at Orly. More information on Millennium Gate can be found online, http://www.thegateatlanta.com/.

Each piece of art will be a reflection on part of the story and era, from the 1960’s in Atlanta to 50 years later in our art community. The exhibit will incorporate works from multiple artists in an effort to reveal details about this time in Atlanta and the lasting effect the Orly crash has had on our city- on the arts in our city in particular. Our exhibit will reflect the change in the way the arts was presented in Atlanta that then occurred, beginning the summer of 1962 and continuing through today.

This is an important event commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Orly crash, and the only event using contemporary art created to honor these art patrons. We hope to celebrate the people who lost their lives on that plane and showcase the vibrancy of our present art community. By timing our events with the departure date rather than the crash, we hope to convey a positive look at the past and future of the arts in Atlanta.

If you live in the Atlanta area, please join us for this special event…May 12th, Millenium Gate Museum, $25 per person, light appetizers and cash bar.